Nils Lofgren reflects on career with new material, tours Buffalo with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

by jmaloni

Sun, Feb 21st 2016 02:50 pm

Nils Lofgren (Photos by Eric Marcel)

Preview by Joshua Maloni

Managing Editor

Nils Lofgren couldn't see it, but
he agreed to humor his wife, Amy.

Halfway through his United Kingdom
"Face the Music Live" tour, he consented to start running tape of his
performances.

"Last year we spent two different
runs over there. And after the first run, she said, 'You've got to record this
show. It's the best show you've done.' And we did," the guitarist said in a
recent phone interview.

He and his touring partner, Greg Varlotta,
"were getting amazing reviews. And I was even surprised. I'm, like, 'Wow, that
was a nice review. I didn't realize we were that good - I don't even know if we were that good.' But consistently rave
reviews - like, 'This is the best we've ever seen this guy,' which is kind of
beautiful after 47 years on the road," Lofgren said. "And it was mixed with
that, and Greg pointed out, 'Hey Nils, this is our tenth year together.' So when
Amy, who has an overview, and has seen me for 20 years, said, 'Nils, these are
the best shows you've done. You've got to record them,' I didn't know. ... I
wasn't sure she was right, but I didn't question it. And I thought, 'Yeah, why
not?' "

Despite the rave reviews and
positive reactions from fans, when Lofgren's tour was over, he still wasn't
convinced.

"And it wasn't until I got home -
I even warned Amy, and she understood. 'So, look, Amy, I'm going to listen to
everything, but I still don't know if there's a record there.' And she always said,
'You're going to be surprised.' And she was right," Lofgren said. "I was very
surprised that, when I was there with my dogs, without being on the road and
delirious and under the weather in the dead of winter doing one-nighters, in ...
my home with an overview I did not have on the road, she was right. There was a
great album there.

That album is the latest project
in what's been a season of surprise for Lofgren, who was inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 as a member of the E Street Band. In that same
year, he released "Face the Music," which chronicled a career that began at age
17 when Lofgren was recruited to play with Neil Young.

"Making my 10-disc box set, 'Face
the Music,' which is a 47-year retrospective ... was a huge eye-opener to what
I'd done," Lofgren said.

Working with Fantasy - Concord, Lofgren
was able to reclaim the tracks he wanted to share - even from out-of-print albums.

"I picked the best of 47 years. I
found 40 bonus tracks. And it was a little startling to see what I'd done,
because I'm usually so focused on today and tomorrow. And, in a lot of cases
with great bands - with Neil Young or Ringo Starr or Bruce, of course, and E
Street - I'm just immersed in their body of work," Lofgren said. "But looking
back on it, I actually wrote a 138-page story about it. Track by track. And Dave
Marsh helped me edit it, and it does read well in my own voice, of my journey.

"I've been very blessed."

Lofgren is grateful for his
success - and that it's come without celebrity. He never sought to be as famous
as his bandleaders.

"I make music to reach people. I'm
still trying to get better at it, to reach more people. But, I think, in
hindsight, if I'd had big, hit records with my band, Grin, at 18, 19 years of
age, then there's the pressure to repeat yourself - and all the bureaucracy in
the music business, and keeping up appearances. And I certainly wouldn't have
wound up playing with Neil Young and E Street, Ringo - and all these other
things that are, musically, very dear to me, and very inspiring to me," Lofgren
said. "I found out at 18, going to work on 'After the Gold Rush,' it was fun
not to be the boss. It was really neat to be in a great band, (and) not have
the responsibility of bandleader, and be on a team. Working with people. And I
so embrace that.

"And when I come back to my own
music, I feel kind of a new excitement and energy for what is next for me, or
the next chapter for my solo work. I don't think I feel that's all I did. So, it's been a very natural transition to go in
and out of great bands back to my own music, and it's been very healthy, I
think, for both ventures."

While Lofgren is fine not being
the boss, he does relish the opportunity to perform with "The Boss."

Lofgren had a solo tour set for
early 2016 when Bruce Springsteen called the E Street Band back to duty.

While Lofgren was disappointed to
postpone his solo dates (and pledged to ticket buyers a desire to return), he
said playing with his band of 30 years has "been great."

"We're surprised. It came out of
the blue. We really weren't planning on it. But ... the shows have been great,"
Lofgren said.

"The River" tour began earlier
this month.

"Inevitably, you know, maybe five,
six shows (in), you get a deeper level of comfortability with each other, the
songs, the set, your gear, your equipment. I've been loving it. It's been
really a joy," Lofgren said. "We usually start with one of the bonus tracks
from 'The River' box (set). Usually 'Meet Me in the City.' ... And then we play
'The River' in its entirety - the double-album - which goes up and down; goes
through many moods; and just a brilliant record. Great subject matter.

"And then the last hour and a half
or two are kind of a greatest hits selection, with hundreds of songs to choose
from, really."

Springsteen and the E Street Band
perform Thursday at Buffalo's First Niagara Center. The show comes on the heels
of historic Western New York appearances by Cher, The Rolling Stones and Paul
McCartney.

While those shows were larger than
life in their production quality, "The one thing to remind people is there's no
lasers and giant blowup dolls and fireworks" with the E Street Band, Lofgren
said. "There's nothing really in the building except Bruce's songs and his
band. And the songs and the bands are formidable.

"And we like to think that that
puts the focus on the band and the songs and nothing else. And it actually
highlights how unique and special it is when you mix it with an audience of
decades that have been following us. It's just a great, magical combination."

Plus, it doesn't hurt that there's
"always great audiences up in Buffalo," Lofgren said. "They just seem like
really down to earth rock 'n' roll crowds; really appreciative. So, I'm excited
to get back there and play with E Street."